‘Paranormal Activity 4′ lags behind predecessors

Late-night screenings bring in $4.5 million

Paramount’s “Paranormal Activity 4″ struggled to scare up the same opening late-night support as its predecessors, with $4.5 million from screenings beginning 9 p.m. Thursday.

The four-quel landed significantly behind “Paranormal 3,” which grossed $8 million from midnight runs last year, and the 2010 sequel’s $6.3 million debut late-night tally, which translated to a $40 million domestic three-day gross.

It’s not surprising to see “Paranormal 4″ lag behind its predecessor, since that pic earned $53 million opening weekend — though by trailing the third film, it’s more likely that “Paranormal 4″ will hit the low-side of Stateside expectations at around $35 million. Pre-weekend tracking suggested the film could gross $40 million-plus through Sunday.

The film’s $4.5 million start includes both late-night and midnight screenings (exhibs typically do not separate the grosses).

Internationally, however, “Paranormal 4″ earned $4 million from 13 territories. Pic already is outpacing the two previous outings in markets like Australia and Germany. Par launched “Paranormal” in 34 day-and-date territories this weekend.